St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-15
IT'S HYMAHOVER!
The Fawn-Eyed Socialist Talks About
Swedish Literatu re.
NOT DEAD BY ANY MEANS.
An Argonaut Who Escaped to Europe
Writes to the Globe From
Ambush.

| worth the reading, nay even the notice
! Sweden may, indeed, look with pride on
her achievements in the world of science
and literature. She has glorious his
tory. Remember, for example, that two
centuries ago it was the Swedish soldier
that upheld on many bloody and vic
torious battle field the great cause of
civil and religious liberty; that our an
cestorS fought, one might say. to man
IN the terrible war known in history as
The Thirty Years. War;" that
they brought back with them
the, political principles of liberty
and independence, which it has been
the glory of the American republic to
CALAMITY profess. They are the SwedeS.
1t shall be my endeavOr in the following
article to draw to head certain patent
| facts concerning the more recent Iitera-
ture of Sweden, and thereby to evolve
true, practicable description of the in
tellectual status of the SwedeS-in
Sweden itself.
1t is very true what E. W. GOsse. the
learned Englishman, says of Swedish
literature, that it is not in a very lively
condition at the present time; that the
revival of literature which has been so
marked in the other two Scandinavian
countries has not yet spread into Swe-
den; that the scientific and literary
Sweden has in fact had no character
| highly eminent to boast of since the
times of Rudbeck and Linn8uS, except
! for the WOrld-famOuS John Ericsson. But
he is more of an American than SWede.
as some one might remark. Be this as it
may, certain 1t is, however, that from time
to time there has been a stirring spirit
among Swedish literary characters who
have achieved so much in the various
departments of science. literature and
art that we may not only expect farther
improvement but also entertain hopes
that Swedish authors will one day or
another be acknowledged all over the
world as highly deserving of attention
and respect. Since King Oscar III. as
cended the throne of Sweden QS72) sci
entitic and literary pursuits have been
followed up both at Upsala, Stockholm
and Lund. OF late years, not only in
les, botany, etc. many characters of
high responsibility have appeared.
among whom L may reckon Thore
Fries, Prof. BlOmstrand, Prof. E. Ed
und, Prof. r. Thalen, A. Key and
others, but also in the historical field of
learning men like With Svedclius, Fred
Ferd Carlson, G. G. Malmstrom. c. G..
Style, G. T. Odhner, Hans Torsfell,
tromhold Hammarstrand, Oscar
Ain, ETC., have appeared That
their labOrS are little known out of
Sweden is assuredly 10 proof that
they are unworthy Of regard. Victor
Rydberg, the most eminent proSaiSt of
the country, has recently made him
famous on scandinavian mythology"
Alfred HedenStjerna is the Sainte Beuve
nf In oh
a style that leaves him unique in whole
Sweden. The only man who could have
any chance of being compared to him is
Claes Lundin in the ''StoekhomS Dag
blad." Jorgen LundStrom in the Bud
kafien" is another chrOnicler of note,
but his language and sentiments are not
adjusted to that nicely of style for which
Alfred HedenStjOrna is so famed The
latter writes unde the signature of
Sigurd in ''SmalandspOsten."
POETRY IN SWEDEN.
Sweden seems in many respects well
adapted to become pOetical country.
Sweden, with her romantic scenes,
cleaning lakes and rocky valleys, her
wild birch woods, etc, all things she
owns afford inspiring motives. The
mythology of the old, and still more,
perhaps, of the younger Edda. supplies
the pOet-inclihing geniuSes with beauti-
full allegOries and effective machinery
Most of the Swedish poets latterly
have been men of some rank and cOnSe-
Quence. For instance. Carl SnoilSky,
the greatest living poet in Sweden, who
is count by birth and man of emf
nent social standing. He has not, COM
paratively speaking, written much as
yet, but everything proceeding from his
pen is marked by wealth of deep orig
inal thought, and by style of mastery
language, equal to Victor Rydberg's,
Count SnOilsky is lyric poet. As
moral and religious poet. much in the
especial note. He is also nObleman,
and moves among the elite of society.
August Strindberg is another poet
and author of the modern Sweden. His
fame is rather OH the decline and
fall" Two or three years ago every
body spoke of Strindberg. Now,
his name is seldom mentioned,
neither in the mouths of the people
nor in the press. Such seems to be the
present condition of the fame of Aug.
Strindberg. author of the notorious
"Giftas' (''To Get Married.'O AS to
philosophical studies in Sweden, it is
worth while to mention that |
they have long been pursued with great |
zeal. Christopher OOStlOll, WHO ultQ |
in 1866, won European celebrity as the |
Swede, and only Swede. who created an |
independent school of philosophy. |
Among his pupils are, perhaps, Sigurd |
Rubbing in UpSala and AXel NyblOeus |
in Lund, the best and most favOrably |
known. NybloeuS, like the abOve-men- |
toned Victor Rydberg, belong, as RaS- |
mus B. Anderson truly remarks in his |
recent history of Scandinavian litera- |
ture Chicago, 1891, ito the so-called |
new rational tendency, which. in recent |
times, has found many adherents in |
Sweden"
As good, able translator of classical |
literature has Prof. Theodore Hagberg |
made him nationally known of late |
years. The same can be said of c. A. |
ANN and of NJ. A. GOldschmidt, the |
English translator of novels, etc.
Prof. G. Sjunggren, one of the eigh- |
teen of the Swedish academy, has pub
lished lately giaut work on the history |
of Swedish literature (Syenska Witt |
crhctenS HOetder.) As linguist and |
popular teacher is perhaps Prof. A. |
NOren, of Upsola university best known.
His line of scientific researches is more
of national character. He has written
several discourses on the ''Old Morse"
and the 'lcelandIc Tongue" Oscar |
MOntclius, editor of the ''Nordisk lids
kuft," published by the Letterstedt's
society, is, next to Hilderbrand, the
most learned arch9OlOgiSt of Sweden, or
of whole Europe perhaps. During my
stay i'll Stockholm | had the pleasure Of
making his personal acquaintance
as we know, is that branch
of scientific studies which forms the in
ternediata link between geology and |
history; it embraces whatever pertains
to the early history of every ma
ton, but before the beginning of our
century it was applied almost excIu-
sively to the study of Greek and Roman
art, or of classical antiquities in gen
eral. DIR. Oscar MonteliuS' labori is con-
fined chiefly to the primitive archaeology